Airbus to set up training facility in Delhi

European aviation giant Airbus is setting up a greenfield training facility at Aerocity, New Delhi, to support India’s growing need for Airbus aircraft pilots and maintenance engineers.

The ground-breaking for the Airbus India Training Centre was performed by aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Tom Enders, CEO.

India is the fastest growing domestic aviation market in the world and is expected to continue to grow at an annualised 9.3% over the next 20 years, outpacing the world average of 4.6%.

The number of trips per capita in India is expected to quadruple by 2035 due to a combination of economic and demographic factors.

“To cater to this huge demand, Airbus forecasts a requirement for at least 1,600 new passenger and freighter aircraft by 2035,” it said in a press statement. The consequent increase in Indian in-service aircraft fleet will lead to an accompanying need for over 24,000 new pilots and maintenance engineers.

“India’s rapidly growing passenger aircraft fleet must be matched by adequate availability of skilled pilots and maintenance engineers. Airbus’ pilot and maintenance engineering training center is the type of facility which will help augment the talent pool of such personnel and thus be a force multiplier for the Indian aviation sector,” said Raju.

“We have only scratched the surface when it comes to the growth of civil aviation in India. This training centre will be the first such facility fully owned by us in Asia. It is a symbol of our enduring partnership with this country,” said Enders.

The Airbus India Training Centre will be built in a modular concept in order to become operational by end-2018 with two A320 full flight simulators, increasing to four and potentially to six simulators in due course. It will start with an initial capacity to train over 800 pilots and 200 maintenance engineers annually.

Team DefenceAviationPost covers all facets of news emanating from the corridors of Defence and Aviation and is led by its Founder&Editor, Anupama Airy, a senior journalist who had spent over 23 years in active print journalism, working in mainline financial and national dailies.